Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a “Squad” buddy whipped up a panic Thursday demanding the feds to probe “a national crisis” involving a string of “modern-day lynchings” of blacks — even though all available evidence does not point to racial animus in the tragic deaths.
The far-left New York City Dem joined US Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and other Democrats in firing off a letter to US Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday urging them “to fully investigate suspicious deaths and hold individuals accountable,” citing “10 reported hangings of Black people” so far in 2026.
“We are extremely alarmed by reports of Black people found hanging from trees in numerous
states throughout our country,” the letter said. “The series of deaths raise significant suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in our nation’s history.
“Therefore, we write to urgently demand a thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation into every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States.”
AOC and Pressley were quick to post the letter on X — where the missive was immediately hit with fact-checks from users showing most of the 10 fatalities were ruled suicides by medical examiners or law enforcement.
AOC’s press office fired back to The Post, ” At a minimum, each investigation, with permission of the decedents’ families, should include an independent autopsy, an audit of local and state law enforcement investigations, review of physical and testimonial evidence, and a final report submitted to Congress explaining the agency’s findings.”
The letter also called for “robust data collection” aiming to track the hanging deaths of black people in a “transparent and systematic manner.”
Only one of the cited deaths — involving a Mississippi woman named Tasia Fortune, 29 — is being investigated as a homicide.
Terence Anderson, a black man, is reportedly being detained as a person of interest in the case.
Another one of the deaths — of a black father of nine children in North Carolina — has been deemed suspicious. It also is still open.
The other hanging death victims, who were from Georgia and North Carolina, among other states, have been ruled suicides without foul play by local authorities.
The Democratic lawmakers — including AOC and Pressley, members of the left-wing congressional party faction known as “The Squad” — asked the Department of Justice to make use of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed in 2022, should any of the deaths be determined to be lynchings.
The law makes lynchings a federal hate crime offense, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Nearly 60 Democrats signed on to Tuesday’s letter, including Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), who serves as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The DOJ and FBI did not respond to Post requests for comment, nor did reps for Pressley’s congressional office.
